Poetic prayers exist at the joining of faith, vulnerability, and creative expression. When words fall short and plain language feels inadequate, poetry becomes a vessel for truth. For many believers, prayer is not always clean or composed; sometimes it stumbles and it wrestles. And that, too, is holy.

Throughout history, faith has often found its deepest voice through poetry. From the Psalms to the Song of Solomon, Scripture itself shows us that prayer does not need to be rigid or refined to be powerful. It needs to come from the heart. Poetic prayer allows the soul to speak freely — to express doubt, yearning, gratitude, and surrender in a language that reaches beyond ordinary speech.

This piece is a reflection on poetry as prayer, shaped by personal experience, Scripture, and unexpected influences; including raw faith publicly displayed by DMX.

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— Justin J. Genao

The Origin Of This Format

The format of this piece comes from my own history of using poetry as my deepest expression. Back in high school, I wrote a bold, unconventional poetry-styled essay for my college admissions. At the time, poetry was the best way I knew how to process pain and life experiences.

I have always believed in thinking outside the box, in breaking away from the expected. Poetry allowed me to speak truth in a way that was more than just sentences; it was raw, it had rhythm, it carried depth.

Another man who understood the power of prayer in poetry, and poetry in prayer, was DMX.

DMX’s Inspiration

For those who know his story, DMX (birth name: Earl Simmons) was no saint. The Catholic Church won’t be naming prayers after him any time soon. He battled drug addiction. He fathered fifteen children with nine different women. He served time in prison. His life was filled with very public flaws, and he never pretended otherwise.

Yet despite his brokenness (or maybe because of it) he turned his life toward Jesus later on. That didn’t mean the battles stopped. He stumbled. He backslid. He wrestled with the parts of himself that wouldn’t let go. But in the midst of that, he still used his platform to talk about God, to pray openly in an industry that often rejects anything to do with Him.

Watch the full video on Youtube

One of his most famous moments of faith happened at the Smoke Out Festival in 2006, in front of 21,000+ people. This was not a Christian conference. This was not a gathering where the crowd was full of Bibles and churchgoers. This was an audience of people who might never set foot in a church; people who knew pain, struggle, and vices because they lived it. And DMX prayed boldly with them. Not at them, but with them.

Why This Is Important To Me

I’ve never faced the same addictions or battles DMX did. But as a Christian, I’ve always been inspired by the courage it takes to stand in front of thousands, admit your dependence on God, and pray from the heart. That kind of act invites criticism from both sides — from unbelievers who think faith is foolish, and even from believers who think you’re not “qualified” enough to speak.

But DMX proved something to me: perfection is not a prerequisite for prayer. God can use a cracked vessel to pour living water. And sometimes, those who’ve been through the darkest valleys are the ones whose prayers can reach the furthest. That’s the spirit I hope to capture with Poetic Prayers.

Battle & Boldness

Once you present yourself to God, you often find yourself in the thick of the fight; dealing with wounds, temptations, and scars. This is a prayer of grit, of standing your ground even when you’ve been knocked down. It’s bold, it’s sincere, and it comes from a place some of the strongest believers often pray from: I’m still imperfect, I’m broken… but I’m still here.

Firmly say this poetic prayer out loud.

I dare you.

— Justin J. Genao

The Depth Of Love & Poetry

“Your lips drip honey, my bride; honey and milk are under your tongue; the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon”

— King Solomon (Song of Solomon 4:11)

King Solomon is considered the wisest man to ever live. The Song of Solomon is written in poetic form, a collection of love poems.

If you stop to think about it, why would the wisest man on earth utilize poetry as the form to express this? I believe it’s because love is the deepest, most complex feeling a human can experience.

Former atheist and investigative journalist, Lee Strobel, in his book The Case for Faith, builds on this idea. He explains that God gave us free will so we could choose to love Him freely. Forced love would not be love at all; it would be mechanical compliance. But free will, while enabling true love, also opens the door for hate, evil, and suffering.

This is what makes genuine love so powerful: it is chosen.

So of course the Song of Solomon is written about love in poetic fashion. The depth, beauty, and mystery of love cannot be truly captured in plain speech. It needs the cadence, the metaphor — because love, like faith, is felt far deeper than it can be explained.

Surrender & Renewal

Eventually, faith asks for full release. An act of humility where you lay down pride, fear, control, and allow God to reshape your life completely. This prayer closes the trilogy with surrender and the joy of transformation, ending the journey not with exhaustion, but with renewal.

No Pride, No Fear

— Justin J. Genao

Closing Thought

Prayer, like poetry, is an act of vulnerability. Both require us to lay down pretense and approach truth without armor. Poetry strips away the surface until only the soul remains; prayer does the same — but it places that soul into the hands of God.

That is what makes poetic prayers so powerful. They are not concerned with sounding holy, they are concerned with being forthright, especially in the places we’re most tempted to soften the truth. Whether spoken in scripture, written in solitude, or uttered on stage in front of thousands, a sincere prayer carries weight because it comes from a real place.

DMX prayed like that; openly and imperfectly. Solomon wrote like that; with depth and awe. And I hope to live like that: offering words that do more than pass the eye. Words that kneel, and words that wrestle.

And when prayer becomes poetry, it doesn’t just speak to God; it transforms the one who prays.

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Author’s Note

This essay sits alongside other reflections on honesty, meaning, and the interior life:

• The Art of Narrative: Why Your Story Beats Your Credentials Every Time
• If It’s Not Cheating, Why Does It Feel Wrong?